WELLAND - A card made of green construction paper and signed by dozens of Welland residents was left leaning against a tree near the historic home of John Deere, built in 1836.

A team of Niagara College film students brought that card with them to Moline, Ill., hoping to present it to someone at Deere and Co.'s head office.

No one wanted it, said Charles J. Smith, producer of a student-made film about the impact the closure of John Deere Welland Works will likely have on the city.

"There was no one in Illinois who really wanted it. John Deere didn't want to accept it."

But leaving that unwanted card lying against a tree seemed fitting, Smith said.

When the director of Dear John, Mark Lammert, explained his reasons for leaving the card where he did, Smith said it made for some powerful footage to add to the movie the students are making.

"It went really, really well," Smith said, Thursday, referring to the six-day trip to Moline the students recently returned from.

Students planned the trip in the hope of learning more about the plant closure, and how a community such as Welland can hope to recover from the blow - 800 jobs lost when the plant closes its doors by the end of this year.

As the film crew headed into the U.S., Smith remained in Welland, co-ordinating interviews and accommodations for the students. Smith organized a few stops on the way to Moline, in other communities where plants closed.

The students stopped at St. Thomas, an Ontario community that will lose 700 jobs when its Daimler truck plant closes next year. They also stopped in Windsor, which stands to lose two auto parts plants.

They crossed the Detroit River into the U.S., and headed north to Flint, Mich., where they spent two days.

Smith said students wanted to learn how Flint recovered from the closure of General Motors plants in the 1980s.

"We were mainly curious about how that city has continued going and what they're doing to make sure the students who come out of the colleges and schools there have jobs to go into. It's kind of a similar situation to here in Welland with Niagara College," he said.

From Flint, the students turned west and drove about six hours to Moline, home of Deere and Co.

"They ended up going to all the different John Deere locations," Smith said.

He said students found the same problems leading to the imminent closure of Welland's plant have not left the company's hometown unscathed. The students went to a few of the company's tourist attractions in the area only to find that they had been closed.

Smith said the students spoke with many people in Moline to learn their thoughts on the troubles John Deere is having.

Many of them were concerned that a company that is closing facilities is paying its chief executive officer $47.2 million, according to information posted on Forbes' website, www.forbes.com.

Smith said workers are calling it a "a slap in the face."

He said they're saying: "The company's CEO is making millions and we're being closed down and losing our jobs."

It's the type of issue that "warrants the questions I think we're asking," Smith said.

Those questions, however, have still not been answered.

Deere executives would not grant the students an interview. The company's media relations department, however, issued a written statement.

Smith said the written statement "doesn't really say much other than, basically, they don't want to talk."

The Niagara College project has garnered a substantial amount of media attention south of the border.

"I've been able to get a hold of a bunch of news outlets in Moline and they ended up running stories, and they want us to keep them updated as well," Smith said.

The students were also interviewed by the local television and radio stations about their project.

"It went exceptionally well. I was really happy," he said.

The students' cameras are still rolling. They're planning to attend a rally today at the Hamilton Convention Centre, organized by the Hamilton and District Labour Council, to protest recent job losses in Ontario.

Smith said the students are hoping to hear what upper-tier government representatives have to say about issues during today's rally.

Smith said the students have begun the huge process of putting all their footage together.

They have already released a taste of the project - a one-minute trailer featuring a few interviews and footage of the Welland plant that is soon to be mothballed.

"We're in the early stages of editing right now. We're doing rough cuts."

The students have also put together a five-minute video which they plan to distribute to film festivals "to get their interest up."

Smith said the full-length documentary should be ready by early next year.

The students have set up a website - www.dearjohnfilm.com - to promote the project.